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DOWN is a location-based
social networking A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...
and online dating application for users looking for casual relationships and hookups. Users can swipe up for more serious dating, swipe down for casual hookups, or left to pass, and continue to the next profile. DOWN bills itself as an open-minded, sex-positive alternative to other dating apps. Founded in 2013 as Bang with Friends, the app began as a
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
web app for curious singles to find which of their Facebook friends were interested in "banging," or
casual sex Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-nig ...
. After lawsuits from
Zynga Zynga Inc. () is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher known for its social video game services. It was founded in April 2007, with headquarters in San Mateo, California. The company primarily focuses on mobile an ...
, the developer of popular games like Words with Friends, Bang with Friends changed its name to DOWN in late 2013.


History


Bang With Friends

Bang with Friends was launched by Colin Hodge and Omri Mor after meeting at Boost VC, a
venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
tech incubator in San Mateo,
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. After working on HeardAboutYou, an app billed as Linkedin for lovers, Hodge looked for a way to simplify the online dating process for users who were looking for something casual. In just the first few weeks after launch in January 2013, Bang with Friends picked up coverage first from the niche entertainment site, BroBible, and then went viral with stories in
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, the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'', ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', and even
the Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
. News coverage and online discussion often highlighted the provocative and humorous marketing from the viral app company. For the first few months, the startup continued to spark discussion and attention from the press, keeping their identities anonymous. While there was speculation about the identity of the founders, they granted interviews anonymously, identifying only as "C" or other letters. After founder Colin Hodge's identity was revealed in promotional material for New York's 2013 Internet Week,
Gawker ''Gawker'' was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers that was based in New York City and focused on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month in 2015. Fo ...
landed Hodge's first public interview. In the first year, Bang With Friends raised $1 million from investors, including Boost VC, Tim Draper, and Great Oaks Venture Capital. Bang With Friends reached 1 million users within three months of launch. With the surge of registrations and press attention, the Bang With Friends app gained even more headlines with a guerilla marketing campaign at the March, 2013 South by Southwest Festival. The company launched a SXSW-specific hookup website, "Bang with SXSW", and plastered the festival's walls with raunchy advertisements. SXSW organizers tore the posters down, drawing more press coverage and fueling the controversy. Starting as a simple Facebook web app in January 2013, the mobile app version of DOWN launched on the
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and
Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...
in May 2013. Within weeks, the app was suddenly removed by
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from the App Store. By August 2013, the app was back up under its new rebranded name, "DOWN".


Lawsuits and rebrand

Midway through 2013, Bang With Friends was sued by Zynga, the social network game maker who owned Words With Friends. Zynga claimed the trademark rights to the phrase "With Friends," threatening a lawsuit against Bang With Friends. The companies decided to settle out of court under undisclosed terms and Bang with Friends rebranded to DOWN in late 2013. The new name of the company is a reference to the casual American
slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...
definition of "down," as used in the phrases "down to fuck" or to "get down," and was Hodge's way of moving the company away from "alienating people who may not want an app that says "bang" but are totally down otherwise." Along with the rebrand, they updated the dating app to remove the limit on connecting with Facebook friends and expanded users' reach to friends-of-friends. DOWN then further expanded to location-based dating. This allowed users to connect with strangers nearby for a date or "get down" for something casual. At SXSW in 2014, DOWN co-founder & CEO Colin Hodge returned, this time invited, and headlined a discussion with
Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application for gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender people. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009, and has since become the large ...
founder and CEO Joel Simkhai titled "SXSW: From Stranger to Lover in One Swipe." The pair discussed the impact of social technology, the evolution of mobile dating, and how creating apps like Grindr and DOWN changed their own dating lives.


Sales and growth as DOWN

In 2016, after organically growing to 5 million users, DOWN was acquired by a Singaporean tech company named
Paktor Paktor is a location-based dating and networking mobile application that connects mutually interested users and allows them to chat individually or as a group. Founded in Singapore, the app was launched in June 2013, and has over 5 billion swip ...
. During 2017, DOWN disclosed it made $1 million in annual revenue from in-app purchases. As part of Paktor, DOWN eventually was rolled into M17 Entertainment in the merger between Paktor and 17LIVE, one of the world's top livestreaming companies. In 2018, the company was sold by M17 Entertainment, reverting ownership of the company to Hodge and an original team member. In 2021, both revenue and the number of users rose over 100% for DOWN, a top 20 dating app the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store in the United States as of October 2021. The app claims over 15 million users worldwide.


Operation


Features

The app's premium subscription allows users access to features like the ability to view which users viewed your profile, the ability to change your location to anywhere in the world, unlimited profile views, a "flirt" feature where users can directly message prospective partners before a match, and the ability to see when your match has read your message. In April 2021, DOWN launched Snap Match, a quick matching feature, that allows users to find virtual connections almost instantly, around the world.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official website

DOWN dating blog
Internet properties established in 2013 Geosocial networking Mobile social software Online dating services of the United States Proprietary cross-platform software Online dating applications Android (operating system) software iOS software Software companies established in 2013